I'm currently applying to university. I'm applying to brock in general studies and guelph for "major to be determined". These 2 courses give me the option to take a few courses in each department and to choose a major 2nd year. However, Mac does not have a similar program and I honestly haven't the slightest idea of what I hope to work as far down the road. I could see myself in a variety of positions with no preference above one another. I'm thinking of applying to Mac in either Humanities I or Social Sciences I, but i'm just wondering if you have a course suggestion for someone undecisive like me. Is there one major more broad than another? And do you/did you guys enjoy your time at Mac? Thank you! :)

Awesome question. Let me preface my answer by saying: every single person you talk to will give you different advice. You won't find a "holy grail" answer that makes you feel better about every choice you ever make. You just have to take what everyone says with a grain of salt and make your own decisions.

I, personally, enjoyed my time at Mac, but have also had my worries and doubts every year I've attended. I'm a History and English double major in my fourth and final year. When I started, I had a loose idea of majoring in history and minoring in something else I enjoyed.

Classes are totally different in university than in high school. English in high school is a dull survey course--in university it is more focused and usually more fun (hence my choice to make it one of my majors). So yeah, I agree that using your first year as a "test" of many different courses to see what you like is a good idea that will help you focus. And you CAN apply to a program then switch to a similar program (or sometimes an entirely different one) after your first year, so don't be scared to pick something specific to apply to now.

But here's my advice: don't rely on that "experimentation" year. Do research now. Find out what you will like. What kind of courses you think you will enjoy. And where the courses will take you, career-wise. I'm a supporter of doing what you love, yes, but to be honest, a major in philosophy or peace studies won't get you far (unless you want to be a doctoral student or get a job that doesn't utilize your degree).

Research now. Spend a few hours rooting around online. Use the McMaster website as well as other websites like macinsiders. That's the best way to find a clearer idea of what you can apply to.

Thank you for that answer! Very in depth and covered all bases! Yes I definitely know now, everybody does i'm sure, that I wan't a very high paying career in my future. Problem is is that nowadays the programs are so broad that you never really know where you will end up until 3rd year it seems, so adds a lot of stress! Interesting what you say about english, will have to check that out next year. I already know that I don't want a career in math or science. Science is an iffy one - I could see myself working in a pharmacy (waterloo has an exceptional program for that) but again, science isn't my cup of tea, i'm ok at it, but I don't enjoy it all that much. So I have a bit of an idea, but still pretty broad. Thanks again for the answer :)

Oh and another question, you seem to be knowledgeable on the subject! If I entered Mac in "Humanities I" first year, would I still have the option to take elective science courses while I earned my humanities credits? First year and the rest of my years at Mac too!? Thank you :)

Hi OP. I think I may be able to answer this question. I finished a BSc (Life Sciences) this past spring at McMaster and I'm back for another degree in political science.

From what I'm aware of, you should be careful about which science electives you're thinking of taking. As far as I know, all the psychology/neuroscience courses are open as long as you have completed the necessary prerequisites like Psych 1X03 and Psych 1XX3 (you need both). Most of your elective science courses will have to be first year ones. 1st year chemistry and physics are both quite hard, but if you did well in high school then you should be ok for both.

What kind of courses did you take in high school? Which ones were you good at and which ones did you like? From my experience at Mac I would say focus an what you like more than what you are good at. You will find that when you get into tougher courses, there will be a lot of work, and being good at it wont help you get through it as much as enjoying it will. I would also consider taking a year off to think about what you want. $15,000 is a lot of money just to test the waters. As for Mac as a school. It is great. Much nicer than many other schools' campuses and a nice student area around the school with good restaurants and bars.

I took a variety of courses, I was never really divided by math, science or english. I took a sociology and writer's craft course at the same time as biology and chemistry! I Ended up with better marks in the non math and science disciplines, and I didn't enjoy math or science too much, so i'm definitely leaning towards arts.

I agree with the find out what you want to do prior to attending thing.. I went in blindly wanted to go into Kinesiology only to find out it wasn't for me.

I then took a pretty broad first year, and found out I liked Geography/Environmental Science, and went in that direction. After finishing I couldn't find a job that easily, and grad school didn't call to my wants. I spent many weeks during my degree at Mac worry about where I would get hired. What I would do for a job.

Eventually ended up in college for a one year post-grad GIS program, much less stressful than University, and got hired before graduating.

My advice for you is to try and think of something you'd want to do, and lay the bricks to get from where you are now to get there. I have a lot of friends that I went to University with, and outside of the ones with top grades who went to grad school, most are not working in their field. This is mostly because of the lack of directly applicable job skills that a lot of colleges offer you.

Hi OP, I work at McMaster Admissions. I just made this throw-away to disassociate my personal reddit profile and potentially NSFW posts. Here's my advice:

Most of the first year programs in Science, Social Sciences, Business, Engineering and Humanities are very general. They allow you to explore in the first year, then choose a major at the end of your first year.

At this point in time, you'll have to decide which area you'd like to apply to, but beyond that, you'll have an opportunity to dabble/explore in your first year.

If you're having a hard time deciding, you could apply to a combined program such as Arts & Science that explores subjects in both the sciences/liberal arts. Many students entering that program are usually undecided/want to study everything.

The advice posted by other redditors is bang-on in terms of making a short-list/deciding what you'd like to study during university. Study what you love/have been successful in over high school.

I have no doubts they like it. But they won't have any useful skills or knowledge because they don't do anything sufficiently in depth.

My personal experience with A and S is as follows. For a few years, I watched their term presentations and marked them for a friend. Almost all of them were style over substance. The most popular presentations had nearly no content at all. That summarizes my whole impression of the program.

If you're already thinking about going into the humanities or SocSci direction....I say to aim for SocSci.

I am currently studying in the Social Sciences and I find it the least constrained program. Most social sciences students will take Humanities courses regardless of whether they know what they want to do and it is far easier to switch into other programs (such as business/commerce etc) from Social Sciences than from Humanities or any other program, IMO.

First (and even 2nd) year in Social Sciences allows you to take a variety of courses, so you are truly open to options.

I don't know much about the ArtSci program at McMaster but I guess its' intention is to be "open" and "broad". Do your research on that program, but I worry that it may actually be TOO unstructured once you've found what you like to do post-first year.

If you have any questions about my personal experiences in McMaster SocSci, feel free to pm me.

Still a good choice! As I said, there's a lot of cross over between social science and humanities....so if you ended up really disliking Humanities (which I doubt you would), it wouldn't be TERRIBLY difficult to transfer into SocSci. With that being said, Humanities really is a great program and many of my friends absolutely love what has been offered to them in the program.

My best advice to you is to take advantage of meeting upper years during your Orientation Week. The faculty representatives (AKA one subset of the crazy people who run around in jumpsuits) are there to help you with questions you have about your program and have all been in the same "I don't know what I want to do" position as you. They are all more than willing to mentor you and help you figure out what your path is!

If you decide to come to McMaster, there really will be lots of opportunities for you. Feel free to msg me if you ever have any questions. More than glad to help.